On the house tops; Chinese Joss House, San Francisco

The objectphotographed as held, uncropped

Catalogue description

A view across the roofs of a dense block: shingled and boarded roof planes in the foreground, a run of tall windows along a wall at the right, balconies and light wells, and figures visible on the rooftops and in the yards behind. The temple of the caption sits within this fabric rather than standing apart from it.

The vantage matters. This is a photograph made by getting up above a neighbourhood and looking down into it. Rooftop views of Chinatown were a recurring commercial subject, and the position of the camera — elevated, uninvited, looking into private space — is part of what the picture is.

The card belongs to Watkins’ New Series, made after he lost his earlier negatives in the mid-1870s and rebuilt his stock from the 427 Montgomery Street gallery.

Transcriptiontext on the object, as printed

WATKINS’ NEW SERIES
Of Pacific Coast Views, 427 Montgomery Street, S. F.
Photographic Views of California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Lower Cal., and the Pacific Coast, embracing Yo Semite, Big Trees, Geysers, Mount Shasta Mining City, etc., etc.  Views made to order in any part of the State or Coast.
3757
On the house tops; Chinese Joss House, S. F.

Historical context

“Joss house” was the common English term of the period for a Chinese temple, from Portuguese deus by way of pidgin. San Francisco’s temples were among the most photographed interiors in Chinatown, and were regularly presented to non-Chinese audiences as exotic spectacle.

What is not known

• Which temple is meant is not specified on the object.
• Date range inferred from the New Series and the 427 Montgomery Street address.